More than "inhabiting" a place, Orta seems to want to activate it
When talking about Leo Orta, one cannot overlook the territory that hosts and inspires him: a landscape suspended between the primordial force of the volcano and the cultural layers of a place like Palazzo Previtera, in Linguaglossa, on the slopes of Mount Etna.
Palazzo Previtera is not simply a historical residence: it is a living archive, guardian of family stories, migrations, centuries-old botany, and views of the world. The Previtera family has collected over the centuries maps, books, artworks, and memories that today form a unique cultural corpus. This heritage flows into the energy of the place, becoming fertile material for those, like Leo Orta, who work with the idea of transformation.
The volcanic territory of Etna is not just a backdrop: it is a presence. The lava, the ash, the cyclical eruptions, the fertility of the soil: all of this becomes conceptual material for Orta, who interprets the volcano as a symbol of change, destruction, and rebirth. In his works, geological energy is translated into organic forms, hybrid objects, installations that seem to emerge from a post-human world but are deeply rooted in the earth.
Trained in the field of design, Leo Orta has developed a practice that spans sculpture, performance, and installation. But what makes his approach unique is the way he blends craftsmanship and ritual gesture, often drawing inspiration from archaic gestures or geological processes. In this sense, Palazzo Previtera is also a laboratory for him: a place where time expands, and where the works can dialogue with the spaces, materials, and stories that inhabit them.
Formatosi nel campo del design, Leo Orta ha sviluppato una pratica che attraversa scultura, performance e installazione. Ma ciò che rende il suo approccio unico è il modo in cui fonde gesto artigianale e rituale, spesso ispirandosi a gesti arcaici o processi geologici.
